ARMY FAO PROPONENT NOTES </b>








ARMY FAO PROPONENT NOTES
SEPTEMBER 1998

This quarter I wanted to deal with a couple of issues that are always interesting to Army officers -- Promotions and Specialty development.

LTC BOARD SELECTION ANALYSIS

The promotion list to LTC was published in July and as always we, at the Proponent Office, had to analyze the results for the Director of Army Strategy, Plans, and Policy (our boss). That analysis follows:

The FY 98 FAO LTC primary zone selection rate was 71.5% compared to the Army average of 67.8%; 3.7% above the Army average. The total number of FAOs selected was 7 of 51 "Above the Zone," 63 of 88 in the "Primary Zone," and 2 of 81 "Below the Zone." Directed floors by Area of Concentration (AOC) were: 48B (Latin America) - 2, 48C (Europe) - 10, 48E (Eurasia) - 7, 48G (Middle East/North Africa) - 9, 48H (Northeast Asia) - 4, 48I (Southeast Asia) - 2 and 48J (Sub-Sahara Africa) - 4. Directed goals were: 48B (Latin America) - 8, 48D (South Asia) - 1 and 48F (China) - 1. All floors were met as was the goal for 48B. When combined with the particularly large number of "Above Zone" officers, attainment of all "required" floors for the AOCs illustrates both an increase in requirements for FAOs at this rank and a need to find the right people to fill these billets. The results of the board continue the trend at LTC over the past ten years (starting with YG 73) where FAO selection rates in the PZ to LTC have averaged 4.67% above the Army average. It is reasonable to say that FAO did very well this year.

An informal review of the ORBs of the selected officers shows 72% had branch qualifying field grade assignments and 97% are MEL 4 graduates. The ORBs of the non-selected officers show 75% had not served in branch qualifying field grade assignments and 29% had not achieved MEL 4. Conclusions that can be drawn from these latter statistics is that MEL-4 (Command and General Staff College attendance) in some form -- either resident or non-resident -- is still a critical factor in getting promoted to LTC. The issue of branch qualification as majors will change somewhat as we enter OPMS XXI. Under the new system, branch qualification as a FAO, i.e., serving in two FAO tours in two of the FAO Skill groupings (Attache, Security Assistance, Pol-Mil, Teaching, or Army-to-Army Liaison), becomes a key element contributing to promotion potential.

Organizing to better Serve the Army

About a year ago, I wrote to you concerning changes that were being made in the FAO Proponent Division to serve you and the Army better than before. The changes entailed expanding our capabilities to manage the specific regional AOCs. Those changes are finished and in place. Now on to phase two. Our Division has been renamed the "Strategic Leadership Division." The name change implies a very real change in our posture and we have added a number of functions and still more people in our division. We have added proponency for one of the newest army specialties (SC 59 - Strategist and Planner) to our plate, as well as the army fellowship program, JPME, and the Harvard strategist program. These additions come with the people to run them, so they will not require a lessening of emphasis on FAO. In fact, the new changes have given us the flexibility to again improve our FAO office organization and I now have an officer dedicated to managing all cross-regional matters, in addition to the regional desk officers.

Bottomline is that I believe that we can serve you better than ever before, offering mentoring to the FAOs in the field and more detailed policy oversight of the program than ever before.

Career Field Designation (CFD)

Three year groups (YG80, YG86, YG89) go before the CFD early next year and must make their choices of career field/functional area/branch in the Oct-Nov time frame. I honestly believe that there are real career advantages to single-tracking FAO, under the new personnel system. If you decide to go FAO, then make it your first choice to ensure that you get it. Call the regional desk officers here at the Proponent office for pros and cons. The more information that you have the better decision you'll make.

1998, Foreign Area Officer Association
Springfield, Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org